Major Thai rice exporter defaults, then secretly returns as nominee in disguise? | Bangkok Post: learning

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Thailand's rice sector at times lacks transparency. Will what actually happened once again remain a mystery as it has in the past?

In the past, it was not clear how the government rice "pledging" program to help farmers actually worked.

To what extent it benefited poor farmers was also a question (Read articles #1, #2, #3 and see archives for more).

In 2008, a rice trading company named President Agri oddly disappeared after a rice deal gone bad (Read article).

Strange cases of disappearing rice also mesmerized Thai TV viewers. The media revealed that rice warehouse owners secretly traded for a profit rice they were entrusted to store for the government (Read article #1 and #2).

Today's article continues the saga (See the full version here).

Rice prices are rising so the government may make a profit on the rice it looked like it was going go lose money on a few years ago (Read #1 and #2).

[Please note that these links to old articles  given above can be especially useful to students writing research papers.]

Click button to listen to Traders Allege Irregularities and rightclick to download

Traders allege irregularities by Phusadee Arunmas

Rice traders claim irregularities have emerged after the government adopted a new auction method to sell its rice stocks.

A source from the rice trading industry said the Commerce Ministry's recent approval of a plan to sell 1.1 million tonnes of milled rice from government stocks to a small exporter had raised eyebrows.

Most traders believe the small export firm, which handles only a few thousand tonnes of rice a year, lacks the capacity to export huge volumes of rice by itself .

Some exporters believe the small business is probably a nominee of one major rice exporter, now defunct, which had defaulted after bidding for 1.8 million tonnes of rice with the ministry.

Politicians are alleged to have helped steer the recent 1.1-million-tonne rice bid and to have received millions of baht in kickbacks. The source said the small exporter might sell the rice it bought from the government's stocks to millers and other exporters.

However, the 1.1-million-tonne bid has yet to win approval from the national rice policy committee chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Trairong Suwannakhiri…

With the consent of the national rice policy committee, the ministry has so far sold about 1.6 million tonnes of milled rice from its stocks to three large exporters - Chaiyaporn Rice, Capital Rice and Asia Golden Rice - through a closed or "offer-to-buy" auction.

Under the offer-to-buy approach, companies that have secured foreign purchase orders are allowed to directly negotiate with authorities to buy stocks.

Korbsook Iamsuri, president of the Thai Rice Exporters Association, said the new method was not transparent. Several exporters felt they were treated unfairly, as most were unaware about the new method, she said…

(Source: Bangkok Post, Traders allege irregularities, Ability of small rice trader questioned, 20/09/2010, Phusadee Arunmas, link) 

default - not doing something you legally had to do or were ordered to do (for example: default on a loan and not pay back on time)
nominee - a person acting for another person in legal matters (usually to hide the other person's name and involvement) ผู้รับถือหุ้นให้บุคคลอื่นที่ไม่ต้องการจะเปิดเผยตัวตน
disguise - to make something look like something else (to hide identity, to make people think they are someone else)
in disguise - using a disguise
at times - sometimes
transparent - can see what is going on, nothing hidden, all parts visible to the public โปร่งใส
subsidy - money paid by the government to a group of people to pay part of the cost of something
to what extent - how much (the quantity or size of something) 
deal gone bad - when a a disagreement or dispute arises during a business deal (that prevents it from finishing successfully)
mesmerize - to attract and make people interested so much that they don't see anything else around them
reveal - show (something that was hidden)
entrusted - when people trust you to do something for them or keep something for them
saga - a long long story or series of events

allege - to say that something is true or that someone has done something wrong, even though this has not been proved กล่าวหา
irregularities - a situation in which the rules, laws or usual ways of doing something have not been followed (perhaps evidence of corruption) ความไม่สงบ
trader - companies that buy and sell goods
claim - saying something is true without proving it completely yet
emerged - appeared ปรากฏออกมา
adopt - start using
auction - selling things by competitive bids, selling to the person who offers that best price การขายโดยการประมูล, การขายทอดตลาด (See Wikipedia)
stocks - large amounts stored for future use
source - someone who gives information แหล่งข่าว
approval - official permission การอนุมัต
raised eyebrows - surprised people

firm - a company บริษัท
capacity - the ability to do something, the amount that a factory or plant could produce if all the equipment was in use all the time ความสามารถในการทำงาน
nominee - a person who acts for another person in legal matters (usually to hide the other person's name and involvement) ผู้รับถือหุ้นให้บุคคลอื่นที่ไม่ต้องการจะเปิดเผยตัวตน
defunct - no longer existing, operating or being used ถูกยุบ, หยุดทำงาน หมดสภาพ
bidding - making an offer in an auction (here trying to offer to do project for lowest cost and thus win contract)
ministry - a government department dealing with an area of activity กระทรวง
alleged - claimed to be true although not yet proven ที่ถูกกล่าวหา
steer - give direction and guide through the process (like "steering" a car while driving)
bid - an attempt to do something ความพยายาม
kickbacks - money paid illegally to a person who has helped you
win approval - get approval (like "winning" a game, success not a sure thing)
national - of a particular country 
policy - a set of plans or action agreed on by a government, political party, business, or other group นโยบาย (See Wikipedia)
chair - to lead a meeting

consent - permission or agreement that something can be done
milled rice - rice that has been processed in a factory and made ready for sale for consumers to buy in a store
closed auction - companies make offers to buy directly to government after they receive purchase orders (sounds like no auction at all)
offer-to-buy auction - same as closed auction
approach - a way of doing or dealing with something การจัดการกับปัญหา
secure - get
purchase - buy
purchase order (PO) - an order to buy goods, "a commercial document issued by a buyer to a seller, indicating types, quantities, and agreed prices for products or services the seller will provide to the buyer. Sending a PO to a supplier constitutes a legal offer to buy products or services (See Wikipedia)
negotiate - discussing a business or political issue in order to reach an agreement
directly negotiate - when two people (parties) involved in a dispute or issue talk to each other (without the use of other people to talk for them, such as their lawyers)
authorities - government officials, the police or people in official organisations who have the legal power to make people obey laws or rules เจ้าหน้าที่ (ตำรวจ หรือผู้มีอำนาจ)
transparent - can see what is going on, nothing hidden, all parts visible to the public โปร่งใส
unaware - not understanding or realising something ซึ่งไม่รู้ตัวมาก่อน

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